“This is some of the scariest news I have ever read on Friday the 13th. With all the advancements in technology and cloud based on demand record storage, the medical industry still can’t get it. It’s embarrassing. I am doctor and every time I go to the doctor I am handed the same clipboard with 5 sheets of paper to fill out over and over again with each visit. The entire world and every other industry including children’s gaming accomplishment tracking has figured out there is an app for that, but the medical industry hasn’t. Then we are now finding out our records are less accurate than a child’s game tracking,” said Dr. Ronald Klatz, President of the A4M, Oct. 16, 2017.
FRIDAY, Oct. 13, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Both paper-based and electronic health records (EHRs) have shortcomings in terms of quality of content, process, and structure, with poor quality of nursing documentation seen for both methods, according to a study published online Oct. 5 in the Journal of Clinical Nursing.
Laila M. Akhu-Zaheya, Ph.D., R.N., from Jordan University of Science and Technology, and colleagues compared the quality of paper-based and electronic-based health records according to content, documentation process, and structure in a retrospective descriptive study. A total of 434 paper-based records and EHRs were audited using the Cat-ch-Ing Audit Instrument.
The researchers found that in terms of process and structure, EHRs were better than paper-based health records. Paper-based records were better than EHRs in terms of quantity and quality content. Poor quality of nursing documentation was affirmed in the study, as was nurses’ lack of knowledge and skills in the nursing process and its application in both paper-based and EHR systems.
“Both forms of documentation revealed drawbacks in terms of content, process, and structure,” the authors write. “This study provided important information, which can guide policymakers and administrators in identifying effective strategies aimed at enhancing the quality of nursing documentation.”
